EUGENE – Former Oregon tight end Colt Lyerla will not be allowed to leave for Las Vegas as his felony drug possession case continues to wind through Lane County’s court system.

Lane County Circuit Court judge Jay McAlpin denied a motion early Tuesday morning to modify Lyerla’s release agreement that would have allowed the NFL hopeful to train and live outside Las Vegas in preparation for February’s NFL scouting combine. Later that afternoon, after several hours of a closed-door settlement conference with a judge and assistant district attorney, Lyerla's attorney emerged to say no settlement was reached Tuesday.

Talks will restart Dec. 27 at 9:30 a.m.

Tuesday's settlement discussions followed Monday's talks that similarly yielded no resolution in the case of Lyerla, the former Hillsboro High School standout who left the Oregon football program in early October as a junior in order to train for the NFL. Should the case proceed to a trial, Lyerla has been given a tentative court date of March 18, according to court records.

Though he could still train in Oregon his attorney, Stephen Houze, requested in court documents two weeks ago for Lyerla to live and train under the supervision of trainer Dwight Ross of Performance Athletics as his case continued in Oregon because "no comparable training program exists."

A representative from XL Sports said Tuesday that the agency no longer represents Lyerla.

Lyerla is facing one felony count of cocaine possession in an arrest from Oct. 23. He is accused of snorting cocaine as undercover officers watched and took photos.

Assistant district attorney Amy Seely did not object to Houze's proposed modifications for Lyerla’s release, instead deferring to McAlpin’s decision with a request that Lyerla be treated as equally as any other person in his circumstance. McAlpin explained that his decision was meant to stay in line with others missing out on potential business because of legal troubles, using the example of a fisherman wanting to move to Alaska to go crabbing while facing charges out of state.

McAlpin said Lyerla’s permanent move was not granted because Lane County “offers a quick, efficient way to resolve criminal cases.”

“In this case Mr. Lyerla has had an original arraignment, three drug court appearances, and two status conference checks – one resulting in a settlement conference,” McAlpin said. “That’s more than twice what a normal case has going through this process.”

At 6-foot-5, 250 pounds, Lyerla entered the season considered one of the highest-rated collegiate tight ends. The NFL combine is Feb. 22-25 in Indianapolis and the NFL draft is May 8-10 in New York City.